Related Articles

• 
  Saudi Arabia’s growth trend heads up

  1 April 2025

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  MEED’s April 2025 report on Saudi Arabia includes:

  > GOVERNMENT: Riyadh takes the diplomatic initiative
  > ECONOMY: Saudi Arabia’s non-oil economy forges onward
  > BANKING: Saudi banks work to keep pace with credit expansion
  > UPSTREAM: Saudi oil and gas spending to surpass 2024 level
  > DOWNSTREAM: Aramco’s recalibrated chemical goals reflect realism
  > POWER: Saudi power sector enters busiest year
  > WATER: Saudi water contracts set another annual record
  > CONSTRUCTION: Reprioritisation underpins Saudi construction
  > TRANSPORT: Riyadh pushes ahead with infrastructure development

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  MEED Editorial
• 
  March 2025: Data drives regional projects

  31 March 2025

  Click here to download the PDF

  Includes: Commodity tracker | Construction risk | Brent Spot Price | Construction output

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  READ THE MARCH MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

  Chinese contractors win record market share; Cairo grapples with political and fiscal challenges; Stronger upstream project spending beckons in 2025

  Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the March 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

  > AGENDA 1: Chinese firms dominate region’s projects market > AGENDA 2: China construction at pivotal juncture > LIBYA: Uncertainty and instability damage Libyan oil sector optimism > UPSTREAM 1: Offshore oil and gas sees steady capex > UPSTREAM 2: Saudi Arabia to retain upstream dominance > BAPCO: Bahrain to benefit from $7bn project by year’s end > MASDAR: Masdar meets renewable’s moonshot challenge > DIRIYAH: Diriyah CEO sets the record straight > SAUDI POWER: Saudi power projects hit record high > AUTOMOTIVE: Saudi Arabia gears up to lead Gulf’s automotive sector > EGYPT: Egypt battles structural issues > GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf hits six-month growth streak > CONTRACT AWARDS: High-value deals signed in power and industrial sectors > ECONOMIC DATA: Data drives regional projects > OPINION: Trump’s foreign policy shakes global relations

  To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

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  MEED Editorial
• 
  Two bid for Madinat Zayed IPP contract

  28 March 2025

  

   

  Abu Dhabi-based utility and offtaker Emirates Water & Electricity Company (Ewec) has received bids for a contract to develop and operate the Madinat Zayed open-cycle gas turbine (OCGT) power generation plant project in the emirate.

  According to industry sources, two teams led separately by France’s Engie and Saudi Arabia’s Aljomaih Energy & Water submitted bids for the Madinat Zayed OCGT independent power producer (IPP) project on 28 March.

  Aljomaih is understood to have partnered with the local Etihad Water & Electricity (Etihad WE) for its bid.

  The Madinat Zayed IPP is expected to begin commercial operations in Q3 2027. It will provide up to 1,500MW of backup generation, which can be operational “at very short notice”. 

  “Gas-fired plants like Madinat Zayed are key to ensuring a reliable energy supply while the country transitions to a decarbonised water and electricity system,” Ewec said when it issued the tender for the project in July last year.

  “[This type of plant] will be particularly important for supporting the growth of solar power, providing crucial flexibility during peak power demand periods and acting as a bridge to a future powered exclusively by clean and renewable sources.”

  Capacity buildout

  Abu Dhabi’s current electricity generation installed capacity sits at about 22GW, with gas-fired plants accounting for 68.7% of the total, and renewable and nuclear power contributing 12% and 19%, respectively.

  Construction work is under way for a 1,500MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant and a 2,457MW combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant.

  Two solar IPPs with a combined capacity of 3,000MW are under bid evaluation or main contract bid, while the tendering proceedings are under way for the Taweelah C CCGT IPP, in addition to the Madinat Zayed OCGT.

  The procurement processes are also under way for the 140MW Al-Sila wind IPP, the emirate’s first independent battery energy storage system plant, and another major CCGT, the 3.3GW Al-Nouf 1 project.

  In January, Ewec and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) signed a power-purchase agreement for a 5,200MW solar PV plant with a 19 gigawatt-hour battery energy storage system, which is expected to provide round-the-clock solar power.

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  Masdar completes Valencia solar deal

  28 March 2025

  Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), through its Spanish subsidiary Satea, has closed an investment agreement for the construction and commissioning of solar photovoltaic installations with a total capacity of 234MW in Valencia, Spain.

  The project has the potential to add a battery energy storage system with a capacity of 259MW, Masdar announced on 27 March.

  A joint venture of Genia Solar Energy and Solar Ventures initially promoted the project.

  The plant will be located in the municipalities of Ayora, Jarafuel and Zarra. 

  It is expected to be operational in the first half of 2027.

  Watson Farley & Williams, G-advisory, EY and Finergreen advised Solar Ventures and Genia Solar Energy, while Broseta, Solida and Perez-Llorca advised Saeta Yield on the transaction.

  In July last year, Masdar announced it had reached an agreement with Spanish utility company Endesa to become a partner for 2.5GW of renewable energy assets in Spain.

  Masdar said at the time that it planned to invest €817m ($887m) to acquire a 49.99% stake, with an enterprise value of €1.7bn, representing one of Spain’s biggest renewable energy deals.

  The portfolio that Masdar planned to acquire consisted of 48 operational solar plants with an aggregated capacity of 2GW.

  Masdar and Endesa, a subsidiary of Italian energy giant Enel, said at the time that they aim to add 500MW of battery energy storage systems to the projects.

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  Miahona wins $267m Modon wastewater plant deal

  28 March 2025

  Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (Modon) has awarded the local Miahona Company a contract for the construction and operation of an industrial wastewater treatment plant in Jeddah.

  The contract is valued at SR1bn ($266.7m), Miahona said in a bourse filing on 26 March.

  This project scope includes the rehabilitation, development, construction, operation and maintenance of wastewater treatment systems.

  The wastewater treatment plant will be located in Jeddah 1st Industrial City.

  According to Miahona, the project scope includes capital investment, land utilisation, service provision and revenue generation through treated water sales, within a 25-year rehabilitation, operation and transfer (ROT) framework.

  Last year, Miahona Company and Belgium’s Besix won the contract to develop and operate the Al-Haer independent sewage treatment plant (ISTP) project in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

  Another local firm, Power & Water Utility Company for Jubail & Yanbu (Marafiq), subsequently joined the developer team.

  The Al-Haer ISTP project involves the development of a water treatment plant with a capacity of 200,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d).

  It also includes the development of a treated sewage effluent (TSE) reuse system that covers a 32-kilometre pipeline with a capacity of 400,000 cm/d, a pumping station and TSE reservoir tanks with a capacity of 200,000 cubic metres.

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo